Warrior Coffee Ambassador: Nooralotta Neziri

Meet our new Warrior Coffee Ambassador: Nooralotta Neziri! Nooralotta is a Finnish hurdler and the current Finnish record holder in 100 meters hurdles. She is the first Finnish woman to run under 13 seconds in 100 meters hurdles. She has achieved a lot as an athlete. Where from did the career as a hurdler start? And how does she prefer her coffee?

Nooralotta Neziri's Story

I’m Nooralotta Neziri, a hurdler from Finland, and I am a Warrior. Here is my story of how I became an athlete. I'm also going to tell you, what kind of role coffee plays in my everyday life.

I started track and field when I was 8 years old. We moved to a new locality in Pori. A year earlier our family was in a horrible car accident when our car hit a moose. This left my mom permanently paralyzed. The car accident changed our plans for the future, so we moved to a new neighbourhood in Pori. We ended up in Kyläsaari, which is a small village in Pori. From the dirt track in Kyläsaari, it started; my track and field career.

Many people have asked me: “Did you already then have a dream of an Olympic medal?”. The answer is no - I did not. I couldn’t even imagine, how it could be possible! I had seen the women running in television and their size terrified me. When I was 16 I didn’t want to go to the gym because I didn’t want to look like the other sprinters did… You must know that gym workouts are my favourite nowadays!

THE ROAD TO A WORLD-CLASS HURDLER

When I turned 16, I started to understand my capability to become a world-class hurdler. In the end of summer season 2008, I was ranked third in my age group in the world's statistics. In 2009 I ran the national record and I won European Youth Olympic Festival. (EYOF is a competition for young athletes, where they have a possibility to learn about the Olympic Movement and its values. It’s a great chance for young athletes to learn, how to compete on a professional international level and how the system works.)

My shape was ascending but I had some difficulties as well. I achieved a lot, made my personal and national records but I also had rough times. For example, I had a toe surgery. The toe got infected and it had to be treated with antibiotics. The antibiotics led me to harmful side effects and I was sick ALL the time. The year I had the toe surgery, I set my main goal for the upcoming season; I was going to win a medal at U20 World Championships in Canada. I ended up in 5th place and the disappointment was HUGE. After that, I decided to win the gold medal in Youth European Championships the next year - and guess what? I DID! Earlier disappointment erased.

CAFFEINE AND ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE

At that time coffee became part of my life. I felt very tired all the time so I started to boost myself with different energy drinks. I didn’t enjoy the taste and spending money for that felt like a waste, so I learned to drink coffee. Caffeine woke me up before my performance. On those days I didn’t care too much about how I prepared my coffee or what was in my cup. I just drank it black, hoping the caffeine kicks in as quickly as possible.

Later on, I started to pay attention to coffee’s quality and especially its taste. I still drink my coffee black – I just take my time to enjoy it.

I can’t even describe it with words, how amazing it felt to make my dreams come true. Almost every performance I did was faster than ever before.

ATHLETES WELLBEING: THROUG STRUGGLE TO VICTORY

So let’s get back to my career. After the U20 times, the year 2016 was the most amazing year of my career so far. I can’t even describe it with words, how amazing it felt to make my dreams come true. Almost every performance I did was faster than ever before. I won hurdlers, whom I had never won before. I got to represent Finland in Olympic Semi-Finals. I had set foot in becoming a world top athlete.

Always things don't go as planned. Last autumn I started to have big problems that affected my wellbeing. I continuously suffered from small injuries and health problems, such as stomach flu and fever. My body and my mind couldn’t perform as they should when you are a top athlete. In summer 2017 I had to drop out my season, which was a tough decision for an athlete to make. Now I have had a good rest and my eyes are in the future and upcoming seasons. My career as an athlete is going to be even more successful.